School: North Penn
Football, Baseball
Favorite athlete: London Fletcher
Favorite team: Washington Redskins
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the District One championship my senior year and celebrating on the field.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: After a big play in the playoffs this year, I was jumping up and down, and at the same time, my hamstring started to cramp. I dropped on the field like I had gotten shot, and it looked hysterical on film.
Music on iPod: Everything from rap to country. I like all genres.
Future plans: Go to college and possibly major in Economics
Words to live by: “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
One goal before turning 30: To have a job and be happy
One thing people don’t know about me: I am very superstitious when it comes to playing and watching sports.
A teammate once dubbed Matt Donovan ‘the Mayor of Lansdale.’
“From being so involved, I made friends throughout school,” the North Penn senior explained when asked about the nickname. “If I see someone I know – whether it’s the weekend when I’m out and about or I’m at school – I’ll always stop and say, ‘Hi.’”
In truth, Donovan would wear the title of mayor quite well. He not only seems to know everyone, he is held in high regard by everyone whose path crosses his.
“He’s friends with everybody,” North Penn football coach Dick Beck said. “He’s a great kid. He’s a positive influence. Everybody likes Matty and deservedly so.”
Backing Beck’s claim is the fact that Donovan was voted captain by the football team during camp in August, and he also was voted Homecoming King this fall.
Beyond that, Donovan is an excellent student. He is a member of the National Honor Society and is ranked in the top five percent of his class. He also is a member of the Class of 2011 cabinet.
Donovan not only is well-liked, he also finds a way to contribute no matter where he’s lined up on the gridiron.
“For not being the biggest kid, the strongest kid or the fastest kid, he started both ways for the District One champions,” Beck said. “His whole thing is technique and smarts.
“He understands angles, and he knows the other team we’re playing pretty well after watching film. He’s quick with his reactions. On the offensive line, he’s just tougher than everybody else.”
After playing fullback and linebacker as a junior, Donovan was slated to play as a one-way starter on the offensive line this fall. He found himself filling in at linebacker after an injury to a member of the Knights’ linebacking corps.
“He went into linebacker and has just been fantastic,” Beck said.
So fantastic was Donovan that he remained part of a linebacking corps that was the heart and soul of North Penn’s defense this season. He continued to play on the offensive line for a Knight squad that not only won the SOL Continental Conference but also the coveted District One Class AAAA title.
The Knights’ remarkable season came to an end when they fell to defending state champion La Salle in the Eastern Final in an all-time classic football game.
“It’s been a wild run and too much fun,” Donovan said. “I just don’t want this dream to end because it’s been the best three years of my life, hands down.
“All the guys I’ve met between the seniors when I was a sophomore and the sophomores now that I’m a senior and all the seniors I’ve been playing with – it’s just been a blast.”
Donovan has been playing football competitively since he was in third grade and began playing with the Cannoneers.
“I had a great career there and some awesome coaches,” he said.
Donovan – along with teammate Dom Taggart – were on the Cannoneers’ team that traveled to Florida to compete in nationals in 2003.
Interestingly, that was the same year North Penn won a state title, and it was around that time that the dream of one day playing for the high school team took root.
“My mom and dad would take me to games on Friday nights when I was in elementary school, and I looked up to those guys like they were pro athletes,” Donovan said. “Everyone was talking about Elliott Johnson back in the day, but I just cheered for the team so much.
“I just wanted to be part of the whole thing. I guess that’s just the (mystique) of the North Penn football team. It’s a great community thing. It just represents something bigger than yourself, bigger than the school.”
It took very little time for Donovan to find his way into the varsity lineup. He was the varsity snapper for punts and field goals as a sophomore, and he can still recall his first taste of varsity action.
“It was pretty nerveracking because Tommy Conaway got hurt mid-game, so I had to come in at halftime,” Donovan said. “Looking up my whole lifetime to play for North Penn and to finally be a varsity player was crazy.
“My heart was pounding, but it was such a good experience and broke the ice for my sophomore year, and I was ready come my junior and senior years.”
Beck admits that it was impossible to keep Donovan out of the lineup.
“I kept being told by Eddie Hawkins, one of his junior high teachers, what a great kid he was,” the Knights’ coach said. “Everybody was a little skeptical because he’s not the biggest kid, not the fastest kid and not the strongest kid.
“To be perfectly honest, we just couldn’t keep him off the field. He played so many positions, and he played them all well, and he was always productive when he played.”
Donovan also has been playing baseball since he was a youngster and followed in the footsteps of his older brother Ryan. He played jayvee as a junior and is planning to try out for the team this spring.
“Whatever sport is in season, I’m putting 100 percent of my effort into it,” he said.
Donovan is the product of hard work, but he doesn’t mind the rigorous schedule a bit.
“We start lifting in January,” he said. “We work real hard in the weight room and conditioning, but I would do anything.”
Donovan – who is enrolled in two AP classes - works just has hard in the classroom.
“I take my grades pretty seriously,” he said. “It’s always grades before sports and other extra curriculars. That’s what my parents taught me.”
Donovan – who excels in math and is considering an economics major - has already been accepted by Penn State but is keeping his options open. He acknowledges he would entertain the opportunity to play football at the collegiate level.
“I definitely don’t want to leave the game of football or baseball, but education comes first,” he said. “I don’t want to jeopardize my education just to play sports.”
Talk to his football coach, and it’s clear that any team would be fortunate to inherit a player like Donovan.
“It’s great to have a kid like that on the team,” Beck said. “He’s always going 100 miles an hour, he’s always got a positive attitude, and you never have to worry about him not working hard.
“I call him a program player. He is what defines our program.”
And there is perhaps no higher compliment the Knights' coach could pay his senior captain.
